In five compelling chapters, this volume elucidates several key factors of
the signed languages used in select international Deaf communities. Kristin
Mulrooney studies ASL users to delve into the reasons behind the perceived
differences in how men and women fingerspell. Bruce Sofinski assesses the
current state of transliteration from spoken English to manually coded
English, disclosing that competent transliterators do not necessarily produce
the desired word-for-sign exchange.

In the third chapter, Paul Dudis comments upon a remarkable aspect of
discourse in ASL–grounded blends. He discusses how signers map particular
concepts onto their hands and bodies, which allows them to enrich their
narrative strategies. By observing meetings of deaf and nonsigning hearing
people in the Flemish Deaf community, Mieke Van Herreweghe determines whether
interpreters’ turn-taking practices allow for equal participation. And the final
chapter features a respected team of Spanish researchers led by Esperanza
Morales-López who investigate the Catalan/Spanish bilingual community in
Barcelona. These scholars measure the influence of recent worldwide, Deaf
sociopolitical movements advocating signed languages on deaf groups already
familiar with bilingual education. Turn-Taking, Fingerspelling, and Contact
in Signed Languages takes professional and lay readers alike on a scholarly
sojourn of eclectic enrichment for all.